


The Overwhelm

by Thepracticalheartmom



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Fluff and Angst, Mild Hurt/Comfort, Multi, Sickfic, Workaholic Reader
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-27
Updated: 2020-11-27
Packaged: 2021-03-09 01:28:19
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,425
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27236512
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Thepracticalheartmom/pseuds/Thepracticalheartmom
Summary: The reader is using work and other things to help deal with her feelings of insecurity and avoid her trauma. What happens when she works too hard for too long?
Relationships: James "Bucky" Barnes/Reader, James "Bucky" Barnes/Steve Rogers/Reader, Steve Rogers/Reader
Comments: 17
Kudos: 81





	1. All Work No Play

**Author's Note:**

> Self care is so important, if you need help, please seek out a professional. You are so important and we need you here.

You weren’t taking care of yourself, you knew you weren’t, but there were just so many people counting on you. Being the wife of two of the world’s greatest superheroes wasn’t easy, and people expected a lot of you. You expected a lot of yourself. You were helping Pepper plan yet another Stark charity gala, trying to finish your next book for your publisher, running your own charity to help children with heart defects, and making public appearances as needed with Steve and Bucky, all while still trying to keep your full time job, something that you loved more than anything. To say you were tired was the understatement of the century, and you’d know, you were married to two people who’d see the whole century! 

You were trying hard to keep up appearances, taking the time each morning to cover the bags under your eyes, put on a full face of makeup and ensure that you looked pristine. You wanted Steve and Bucky to be proud of you. They did so much for the world, and you just waited there at the compound. You weren’t worthy of any of their love, but somehow, beyond reason, they loved you fiercely. 

You looked at yourself in the mirror, slightly disgusted at what you saw as all of your flaws. A hair out of place, a little extra fat left over from birthing your daughter, a couple of stretch marks, a place in your eyes that looked like a seed instead of perfect irises. You were trying. You were trying to be perfect, to be everything that was expected of you, but you knew you had to try harder. You made a cup of coffee, checking the clock. 3:45am, not early enough. You wouldn’t have time to work out this morning before you started your day. You’d just have to do it when you got home. You grabbed a cup of coffee and a granola bar, heading out the door before Steve and James were even awake. 

They were used to it. You’d been doing it for weeks now. They knew you were busy, most days one of them carried you to bed after you fell asleep working at your desk. You grabbed your keys off of the bowl and looked longingly at the bedroom where your little family was still asleep. Steve or Bucky would meet the nanny when she got there at 6 o’clock, and then they’d go for their run before heading to train new recruits. 

You travelled up the elevator to your office and unlocked the door. You loved working in the compound, it made it easier to get everything done. You took a sip of your coffee and took a caffeine pill. You needed it to get through the day. You’d only gotten three hours of sleep the night before. You yawned as you opened your laptop and began scrolling through numbers for the gala’s budget. Sponsorships were coming in nicely, the deliveries all seemed to be running on time, and the silent auction was going to be beautiful, with some great items that you knew would raise a ton of funding for your charity. You had a dress fitting at 2 o’clock, and you hoped that it would go well. Then, you had a meeting with your agent about your newest book at 3:30. Your boss was still waiting on the report you promised, and you figured you should finish that before you started anything else. 

You got to work, working well through noontime before you slipped into a car to be drive to your dress fitting. You continued to work from your tablet. The door was opened for you, and you slipped your tablet in your bag as you entered the salon. Your dress fit loosely, and you couldn’t remember it being quite so loose before. Those extra workouts must have been doing their job. The seamstress said she’d take it in another inch or so and it would fit like a glove for the gala at the end of the week. You continued about your day, meeting with your agent and staying on top of the work your boss assigned, eventually making it back to your office. You walked in and noted a new bouquet of flowers. The sweet smell made you smile, you opened the card to see that it was from Steve. In his elegant scrawl was written “I love you, Steve.”

You sighed, you did miss them, hopefully once this fundraiser was over you wouldn’t need to put in such long hours. Although, lately it always seemed like something was pulling you away from them. Be it a mission for them, an event or fundraiser or just work for you. You missed the days of running away for a weekend. You sat at your desk and put your head down for a minute, feeling dizzy. It passed and you went back to work. 

It was nearly midnight when Steve peered into your office, finding you asleep at your desk again. He didn’t wake you as he slipped his hands under your knees and carried you back to bed. Your head cradled against his chest, the soft beating of his heart the perfect lullaby for you. He settled you between himself and Bucky; they curled around you and enjoyed the little bit of quiet. 

You woke up groggily with your phone alarm again, slipping out from between the boys, you kissed your daughter’s forehead softly in her bassinet, wishing you had time to cuddle with her before work. You knew you didn’t really have to work, but you just couldn’t help but feel useless when you were doing nothing. You went through your morning routine, and then hit the compound gym for a workout before you made it to the office. You stepped onto the treadmill and took a caffeine pill with a swig of water before beginning to run. You felt a little dizzy and you were still tired, but you pushed on, running five miles and then doing some strength training before showering and heading up to your office. You began to work, still feeling fatigued, but that wasn’t unusual, the pounding headache attributed to your uptake in staring at a screen all day lately. 

You phone rang, you could barely look at it, your head was pounding, and no amount of caffeine or pain killers was helping. You just had too much to do. You couldn’t stop. You powered through for another hour or so and then began to see spots in your vision. You blinked a few times and found that they went away. You chalked it up to being tired and took another caffeine pill. You skipped dinner again, and this time, it was Bucky who carried you to bed. 

Bucky gently removed your shoes and tucked you in before slipping back out into the living room with Steve. “She’s still asleep. Steve, I’m worried. I think something is wrong. She never comes home anymore.”

“She’s been so busy with the gala and everything she has going on, I think she’s just trying to keep up with it all. I tried to check in with her assistant the other day to take her to lunch once we got back from our mission, and she was booked solid through the end of this week.”

“Really? I thought she kept some blank space on her calendar?”

“Me too, Buck, I’ll go up and see her tomorrow if you’ll handle our training session with the new guys.”

“Sounds like a plan, punk. Make sure she’s eating something too, I can’t remember the last time she was home for dinner.”

After their conversation, they slipped into the bedroom quietly, getting ready for bed, and listened to your soft snores as you slept. Steve couldn’t help but notice that your heart didn’t sound the same as it usually did. He just chalked it up to him hearing things. 

The next day, Steve slipped into your office around noon, he knocked softly and you smiled when you looked up and saw him. “Hey love, whatcha need?”

“Do I need a reason to come see my best girl?” He leaned down and kissed you softly, pulling you up to stand with him.

You smiled and hummed softly “Hmm, I guess not.”

“I was thinking that we could go to lunch? I know you’re busy, but I’ve missed you.”

You looked at your desk, thinking about all the things you had to do, but you couldn’t bring yourself to disappoint Steve. He was always busy too, and he made time to spend a minute with you. You smiled and grabbed your purse. “Let’s go, love.”

The rest of the week flew by, your last dress fitting, you finalized all the reports your boss needed and sent them over, and then it was time to get ready for the gala. You’d spent the entire day rushing around the banquet hall, ensuring that everything was set up perfectly. This needed to go off without a hitch. There were too many people counting on you, and you wanted to make Steve and Bucky proud. You stepped into the elevator, rolling your neck and stretching a little as you stepped into your apartment. The nanny was staying late tonight and you kissed your daughter’s head before beginning to get ready. Your dress fit like a glove, everything was in its place.

You stepped out and Bucky and Steve were whispering to each other at the counter. “Ready boys?”

They turned around and their jaws dropped. You looked gorgeous, the red, vintage inspired dress hugged your curves in all the perfect places. Your hair was done in curls pinned up in a more modern version of a vintage hairstyle, your lipstick in what you liked to call “resistance red” completed the look. Steve and Bucky offered their arms and you headed out to the waiting limo. You arrived at the event, and the boys exited before you, opening the doors and blocking you from the worst of the camera flashes until your eyes had had a moment to adjust. The camera flashes made you feel a little dizzy, the flashing lights messing with your vision briefly. You smiled and Steve and Bucky walked you inside the party. 

The night seemed to be a blur, you barely sat down, and once you made your speech, telling your daughter’s story in front of hundreds, you dabbed at the tears on your cheeks. Your little family had made it through so much, You met and exceeded your fundraising goal, thanks in no small part to Tony’s more than generous donation. The guests began to leave, and you tallied the final total. “Hey Steve?” you called over to him. He turned around just as your knees buckled and your eyes rolled back in your head.

  
  



	2. Waking Up

Steve watched in horror as you crumbled. He couldn’t hear your heartbeat. Not from across the room. He ran to your side, dropping down beside you as he yelled for help. Bucky turned at the panic in Steve’s voice, and darted towards the two of you. Your heartbeat was too fast, erratic. Beat...Beat...Beat. Beat.Beat.Beat...Beat….Beat… Steve could hear it. Bucky could hear it, and all they could do was watch. You began to convulse. Your body just couldn’t keep up any longer between the lack of sleep, forgetting to eat, overdosing on caffeine and the stress you were under. Steve rolled you on your side as medics came streaming in through the door. Someone must have called them. Natasha and Tony pulled the boys away from you, quieting their fears so that the medics could rush you down to the medbay. 

Steve and Bucky rushed downstairs to the medbay, they paced in the hallway and Bucky shot death glares at anyone who dared tell them they didn’t belong there. “How did we not see this Steve?” Bucky whispered, he was trying hard to keep it together. 

  
“I don’t know Bucky, I knew she was working hard, but I didn’t think that it was this bad.”

Steve pulled Bucky into his arms. “She’s going to be alright Buck, she’s strong. She’ll be ok.”

A nurse stepped out of the room and ushered them inside. Bucky and Steve slipped into the room. Dr. Cho sat beside them in a rolling chair. She explained your prognosis to them. “Y/N overdosed on caffeine, she’s going to be alright, but she needs to take it easy for a while. She needs rest and no stress. I understand that she’s been overworking herself for a while now. That has to stop. I’m taking you both off active mission status for a while. She’s going to need your help.”

The two men nodded. “Thank you. Do you know when she’ll wake up?”

“We gave her a pretty strong anti-convulsant, she’s going to sleep it off for a while.”

Bucky sat at the end of your bed and Steve sat beside you. Bucky rubbed soothing circles in your ankle and Steve held your hand. “Have you checked on the baby?”

“She’s alright, the babysitter is waiting for Pepper to run by and get her.”

Steve nodded. “That’s good, that way we can focus on her.”

Your eyes fluttered open nearly twenty-four hours later. You looked down at your feet and saw Steve, curled up against your legs at the end of the bed, Bucky’s head was tucked near your side on the mattress, you noted that you’d been changed into soft sweatpants and a t-shirt. You shifted and suddenly both super soldiers were on high alert. 

“Doll?” you heard Bucky’s sleep filled voice.

“Hey Buck.” You groaned, your voice sounded like you’d not used it in a long while.

“Hey sweetheart. How are you feeling?” Steve asked keeping his voice low.

“Like I’ve been hit by a truck. What happened?”

“You passed out after the gala. Dr. Cho said you’ve been taking in too much caffeine and not taking care of yourself. Doll, why didn’t you ask for help? You know we’re always here if you need help.”

“I just wanted you to be proud of me.”

“We are proud of you, but we’d be proud of you even if you weren’t doing all the things you’ve been doing. You’re working yourself to death.”

You leaned back against the pillow. “I know. I just wanted to keep everything going. I miss you both, I miss our family. Something is going to have to give.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What do you think? Do you want more?

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading, let me know what you think! Next installment up soon!


End file.
